I've Lost Control
A recent comment on Dave Sweeney's Running Master blog from Scott Brown has prompted me to do an update for this blog.
The video below just about sums it up - I've lost control of my running. I can no longer predict exactly how I will run on any particular day. For example last Sunday, I set out to do an easy 10k run at BRRC and ran 51:40 (5:10 pace) which should be a doddle but by the finish my Heart Rate was at 178 which is about 97 % of my max HR. On a training run on the Wednesday before that I actually reached my Max HR of 184 while running at 5:00 pace.
Now before you get too worried last month I had a stress echo test on my heart and all was reported as good. The heart of a race horse in fact was the subjective result my doctor gave me. The doctors as of yet have no explanation as to why this is happening.
On the other side, I ran 13k yesterday ( including the large hill up to the Storey Bridge which I now have to include as the Floating walkway got washed away in the recent floods) at 4:53 pace and at an avg HR of 150. This is the best run I have had in ages but is sadly the exception rather than the rule.
But the general trend in the last six months is one step forward three steps back and with no discernible change in that pattern.
After coming back strongly last year and getting to 1:34 Half marathon fitness in only six months since the chemo stopped I expected that in another six months I would be able to get close to getting back to where I was in 2009 but that has not panned out.
So I am just trying to enjoy my running. I am doing around 80k a week. I have started doing runs with the Brisbane Running Buddies on Wednesdays and Saturdays to make running a more social activity.
No goals , no expectations and no motivation to blog on such circumstances I'm afraid.
The video below just about sums it up - I've lost control of my running. I can no longer predict exactly how I will run on any particular day. For example last Sunday, I set out to do an easy 10k run at BRRC and ran 51:40 (5:10 pace) which should be a doddle but by the finish my Heart Rate was at 178 which is about 97 % of my max HR. On a training run on the Wednesday before that I actually reached my Max HR of 184 while running at 5:00 pace.
Now before you get too worried last month I had a stress echo test on my heart and all was reported as good. The heart of a race horse in fact was the subjective result my doctor gave me. The doctors as of yet have no explanation as to why this is happening.
On the other side, I ran 13k yesterday ( including the large hill up to the Storey Bridge which I now have to include as the Floating walkway got washed away in the recent floods) at 4:53 pace and at an avg HR of 150. This is the best run I have had in ages but is sadly the exception rather than the rule.
But the general trend in the last six months is one step forward three steps back and with no discernible change in that pattern.
After coming back strongly last year and getting to 1:34 Half marathon fitness in only six months since the chemo stopped I expected that in another six months I would be able to get close to getting back to where I was in 2009 but that has not panned out.
So I am just trying to enjoy my running. I am doing around 80k a week. I have started doing runs with the Brisbane Running Buddies on Wednesdays and Saturdays to make running a more social activity.
No goals , no expectations and no motivation to blog on such circumstances I'm afraid.
posted by Robert Song @ 8:29 am
3 Comments:
At Fri Mar 18, 08:46:00 pm AEST,
Ewen said…
You're like that nuke reactor at Fuk u shima. I'll leave it to Dr Scott to diagnose.
Anyway, good to hear from you. It's easy to miss things on FB. Blogs are the slow food movement of social media.
At Sat Mar 19, 03:23:00 pm AEST,
Samurai Running said…
Wonderful that someone actually listens to me! Been married so long isn't something I'm used to anymore.
Is there any group or people who have had treatment and are now suffering the HR ups and downs you talked about? You can't be the only one, but I reckon there are few that were running at such a high level before they got cancer and fewer that got back into it.
Still, I hope you can find someone who will tell you that this will pass and you'll be running with the master's elite again!
Please let us know if things change either way. Are you still making your original mixed recordings? Your "Tower of Song" one has become one of my favorites.
At Mon June 13, 05:32:00 pm AEST,
Clairie said…
Go on Graham....update your blog and tell the world what you've been doing. Its all good news and you are putting in the hard runs now that will start showing some really good results.
Got to record all those Virgin runs somewhere.... :)
Post a Comment
<< Home